Review | Hellbound

LifeisXbox’s Hellbound review | Who is ready for a review for a game that seems like it will be meh but turns out totally different? Today I will be telling you all about this game called Hellbound. It’s a classic representation of an old arcade shooter but revamped 30 years later. It’s made by the people over at Saibot Studios, and it might even be a worthy alternative for DOOM. And yes, that means quite a lot considering the prestige that surrounds that game. So let’s get to it, shall we? 

We played Hellbound 5 hours on PC. This game is only available on steam.

What we liked!

• Shooting: In hellbound, you will shoot a lot, and I must say it feels sublime! It’s fast, it’s precise, and most of all, it’s rewarding. Hellbound really leans towards doom when it comes down to the shooting and gore. You kill, reap the rewards from bodies, and become more potent this way. Really cool concept that worked out perfectly.
• Feel: This might be a slight bit bias, but Hellbound feels fast and speedy. I really enjoy games where you can zoom around and don’t need to progress in stages. It is almost as if you can do a whole run to get to some “final boss” the fastest. Or acquire the highest score in the shortest amount of time.
• Sound: Hellbound has some popping metal music and theme songs. And you must be there for the genres, especially when you open the menu for the first time since it will welcome you with its metal vibes instantly! When that moment is over, you will be able to enjoy gameplay that’s amped up by the right tunes at the right moment (mostly hardcore music, so don’t you worry!).
• Graphics: Something that surprised me is that Hellbound has seemingly better graphics than anticipated. I was expecting a full-on pixel mess but was pleasantly proven wrong. The enemies and the map are a tad on the pixel side. Still, they are not vast blocks of pixels and have seemingly great detail for the concept that Hellbound is going for. Also, the game runs smooth as butter on my ultrawide screen, which really gave me an immersive feeling!

Somewhere between

• Upgrade: I get that the developers were trying to go for a classic feeling, reborn on a computer. But I can’t help but feel like it could have been a bit more “modern.” Or include some aspects that were “impossible” back in the day. A multiplayer or co-op mode would have been welcome, or some better use of modern technology. It can just feel simple at times, which bothered me.

What we disliked

• Health: What I found rather upsetting is that when you are low on health, you need to use ammo to get rid of bodies because this will give you the most health back. A melee will provide you with one health, maybe 2, while a shotgun will give you 3. It could be that it was pure luck, but still. You will just find yourself in low-health situations, which I wish were less common. You can always respawn from your last checkpoint, but that will be at the health you checked on that point. So if you are unlucky, and happen to run away from mobs, straight into a checkpoint, then that is what you are stuck with.  

CONCLUSION

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